Game



I Sept. 22, 1936. p w, T, LQY 2,055,036

GAME

Filed June 10, 1932 Patented Sept. 22, 1936 I UNI-TED- STATES A N omen YA 2,055,036 r j GAME 7 Park WIT. Loy, Hagerstown, Md.

" Application June 10, 1932, Serial No. 616,530 .eolai'ms. (01. 273-131),In the present invention I provide a game includlng afgameboard andmovable game pieces audit is an'obfiect of the invention to play theifgame after the Iashion of a national election votes towin the game.

"campaign iin order "that by skillful maneuvering a player may capture amajority of electoral A furtherobject' o f theinvention isto provide 1'a'ga'rhe sirdulatihga national election campaign in which a playingterritory or public domain is provided "over, which the States aremovable for f preferential positioning, optional with the player,butjgove'rnedby certain rules, with-the hazard of capture byjtheopposing player or candidate'; should the State pass into territory overwhich the; 'opposing' player or candidate has domain... n v

A"furthr object or the invention is to provide agame including a playingsurface over which game pieces are mo'vable"according to certain 7rules, thefs'u'rface beingzoned in orderthat by j'skillfnl maneuvering aplayer can advance his player pieces over a predetermined area into the(zones.

Other bnjects ofthe' invention will be ap arent (from the 'f ollowingdescription of the present pre- QQferred'form thereof, taken inconnectionwith the accompanyingdrawingwherein Y f ,The' figure is a topplan view of a game board constructed-in-accordance with the presentinventiori;.showing some or the game pieces mounted i thereon, the'latter'b'eingals'o shown in'plan.

Thedevice of the present invention consists of agame board I, which maybe made of wood,

desired, maybe hinged at 2 in order to permit metahcardboard, or othersuitable material and folding of the board in a manner well known in[the art; rne board is divided into two fields, generally designated3and '4, along the line of the hinge Preferablythe playing'surface ofthe board is divided "into a predetermined number A of'u'niform'squares, in the present instance three 7 hundred and seventy-four beingshown, seventeen 1 squares constituting the playing width of thepresent'b'oard and twenty-two squares the play- Consequently, onehundred and eighty-seven squares comprise each field. One hundred andeleven o f the squares of. each field, designated 1,

t are open, through which Igame pieces,'here'inafter describediaremovabla- The remaining seventysq iares oi-geach field, designated 8, areclosed or solid squares and'constituteforbidden areas** into which, orover which the playe'rpieces may not 'be moved. Certain of the opensquares in each field are provided with circles or dots 9, the circlesor dots of one field being of a color 5 different from the circles ordots of the other field. The squares which contain the circles or dotsare the starting positions for the player pieces hereinafter described.

Each of the playing fields 3 and 4' is also pro 10 vided with anisolatedterritory which runs'parallel to the line of play of the gamepieces'on 'the board, these territories being strategic positionsandconsisting of specially designated blocks or squares 10'. Inthe presentinstance, I prefer, 16 to employ four such squares in each playingfieldi" each of said squares being designated by across mark (X) mountedin a I heavy border; The squares H] of one field correspond'in color-tothe dots'9 of the opposite field. .20 On the opposite sides of theterritory consti tuting thelstrategic position of each field, I provide,at the baseline 5'of eachfield, a series of blocks ll, constitutingconceded States zones. Each of these zones, in the present instance, Ishow to consist of five aligned squares to which access maybe gainedthrough three open squares. The player pieces may be of any desiredshape and size, but I have found discs, designated in the drawing atI'2', to be adapted for use inthis con- '50 nection. Each disc is:provided with indicia repre sentative of a State and the number ofelectoral votes of the particular State designated. Two discs areprovided for each State, in order that each player at't'he beginningofthe game 35 will have a" player or game piece representative of eachState in the Union, with the number of electoral votes of eachparticular State.

The game may be playedby two persons, each of whom may be regarded asacandida-te for io o-flice. The forty-eight player pieces of each candidate are mounted in the; squares containing the circles or dots. Ofcourse,'the particular manner jof positioning the player piecesaccording to their votes counted, it is necessary that the player piecesmove from one field across the dividing line 6 into the opposite fieldand traverse the opposite field completely until the advancing piecesare finally lodged in the conceded States zones at the playing extremityof the field. The player pieces are movable along the board similar tothe game of checkers, except that the player pieces may be initiallymoved laterally in the open spaces 1 as-well as forwardly. 'Since theplayer pieces of each contestant are'of a different color, it is easy tosegregate the States of the two contestants. player may move any playerpiece desired for wardly or from side to side in any open space. Assoon, however, as the State or player piece of one player comes adjacentthe State of the opponent, the latter, in advancing, may leap or jumpsaid adjacent State and multiple leaps or jumpsare permitted, as inthegame of checkers. The States captured in this way of course, go tothe credit of the capturing contestant. In jumping or leaping anadjacent State or States, it is to be understood that this movement isnot to be confined in one direction only, but may be forward or to theright or left, or any combination of forward, right and/or left.Additionally, it is the desideratum of the game to provide forced leapsor jumps, when profert is made of such a leap by' an opposing candidateto the exclusion of another jump or leap available to said opposingcontestant.. Each player or contestant has the four strategic positionsdesignated H], which are located in close proximity to the concededStates zones in the opponents territory. The strategic positions may beoccupied bythe player pieces or States of either player or candidatewhen found vacant, but where a players own State occupies a strategicposition in his own field, he is not immune from attack or capture. Onthe other hand, where these strategic positions are occupied by acandidate in the opponents field in his forward advance, such State isimmune from attack and capture, but may attack the States'of theopponent coming in the squares adjacent thereto. Preferably, although aState may occupy a strategic position in the opponents. field withimmunity from attack, nevertheless this State can be leaped or jumpedwithout capture to effect the capture of one or more States found ineligible position beyond the strategic zones.

After an opponent has successfully maneuvered his player pieces orStates through his own field and the field of his opponent tothe'conceded States zones of said opponent, such States votes areimmediately credited to the capturing contestant and in addition, saidState is returned to play with increased value in that'it may movebackward in addition to forward and right and left, similar to a king incheckers. the increasedvalue of the particular State, an additional discof similar coloring is superimposed thereon. The conceded State, incontinuing to play, has all the previous rights which it enjoyed,inaddition to being permitted to move backward as well as forward, butit has no scoring value if captured. When a State of'either candidate iscaptured by being jumped or leaped and is removed from the board, thecorresponding State of. the opponent remainsin full play,

' but the indicia bearing side of the disc is turned downwardly and ofcourse, has no scoring value,

if later captured. 7 1

In scoring 'the'game, the player first obtaining In beginning the game,each' a majority, namely, two hundred and sixty-six votes, wins thegame.

It is to be understood that in'the drawing I have shown a board andgamepieces which I have found to be especially adapted for use inplaying the game after the teaching of the present invention. I am awarehowever, that the game may be played by a rearrangement of the squaresand game pieces and that changes may be made in the game board and gamepieces, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention ascovered in the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A game simulating a national presidential election campaign includinga game board divided into a plurality of squares separated by a centraldividing line to provide two fields, player piecesmounted on the boardwith indicia thereon representative of the States and their electoralvotes, said pieces being movable in a limited number of the squares ofeach field, certain of the'squares of each field being designated asprivileged zones for the player pieces and other of said squares atopposite extremities of the board being the objectives of the playerpieces.

2. A game simulating a national presidential election campaign includinga playing surface divided into two fields, each of which consists of, anequal number of squares, player pieces movable over certain squares ofthe playing surface, a plurality of squares in each field runningparallel to the line of play, being specially marked to providedesignated zones endowed with special privileges, and a further groupof'squares at the tive of the States and their electoral votes,.each

set consisting of forty-eight pieces mounted in certain squares in eachfield and adapted for movement across the dividing line into the otherfield through certain unoccupied squares of the latter, certain of thesquares in each field bearing a characteristic declaration indicativeofcertain privileges, additional squares in each field beingdesign'ated'to constitute the objective points of the State's.

4. A game simulating a. national presidential election campaignincluding a playing board divided into'a plurality of open and closedsquares separated by a central dividing line to provide two fields,certain of said open squares having indicia V therein to designatestarting points, other of said. To designate open squares being demarkedto indicate privileged zones, player pieces 01' different values mountedin the open squares of each field adapted for movement across thedividingline from one field to another only in the open squares, certainof the open squares .at the outer extremity of each field being unmarkedto provide conceded States zones forming the objective of the playerpieces.

5. A game including a playing board with a plurality of open and closedsquares thereon, the board being centrally divided to provide twoplaying fields, alternate rows of the open squares having indiciatherein indicative of starting positions, certain ofthe open squares ofeach field being specially demarked to indicate privileged zones,certain of the open squares at opposite terminals of the board beinggrouped to provide conceded States zones, .and game pieces for movementover the board in open squares of the latter.

6. A game including a playing board composed of open and closed squares,the board being cen trally divided to provide two playing fields, amajority of the squares of each field being open, certain of which arecentrally marked, a further predetermined number of said open squaresbeing peculiarly demarked to constitute strategic positions of one fieldcorresponding to the centrally marked open squares or the oppositefield, and game pieces movable on the board in all said open spacesincluding the said centrally marked squares and strategic zone.

PARK W. T. LOY.

